BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ Fueled by the solid rushing game that's been it's bread and butter for the last few years, LSU trounced North Texas State 52-0 Saturday night, giving fans hope the Tigers can shake off last year's losing record.

Against overmatched North Texas (0-2) LSU notched it's first shutout since 1997 and showed no sign of the lackluster play of its season opener.

LSU's search for a starting quarterback continued, but lost some of its steam as Rondell Mealey and freshmen Domanick Davis and Josh Reed continued the Tiger tradition of power running, rushing for a combined 285 yards and four touchdowns.

LSU (2-0) was up 31-0 at the break, scoring on every possession of the first half. Mealey scored on runs of 27- and 8-yards and Jerel Meyers made a 60-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

John Corbello, who missed a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, hit a 27-yarder in the second quarter and Rohan Davey hit Kyle Kipps for a 28 yard touchdown.

The Tigers added three scores in the second half. Davis had a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter LSU cornerback Mark Roman intercepted a pass by Richard Bridges and returned it 31 yards for a TD and Reed closed out the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown.

After going 4-7 last season, LSU had struggled in its season opener, holding San Jose State off 29-21. With Southeastern Conference competition ahead, beginning with Auburn next week, the Tigers needed a big win in their final tuneup game and they got it.

LSU outgained North Texas 514 yards to 122. LSU had 26 first downs, compared to eight for North Texas. The Tigers had 164 yards passing, the Mean Green 10.

The quarterback search saw all three Tiger signal callers play. Craig Nall was named the starter just before the opener, but was unimpressive and Davey started against North Texas, alternating with Josh Booty through three quarters.

Davey completed 6 of 6 passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Booty, who returned to LSU after five years of trying to break into major league baseball with the Florida Marlins, completed 9 of 14 for 86 yards.

Nall played in the fourth quarter, completing 1 of 5 for no yards.

The eventual starter may not be a big factor as the LSU ground game seems to be as strong as ever.

Mealey, a fifth-year senior who played in the shadow of Kevin Faulk and Cecil Collins, followed up last week's 158 yards and two touchdowns with 118 yards and 2 scores on 13 carries.

Davis gained 109 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown for LSU. Reed had 58 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Ja'Quay Wilburn supplied all of North Texas' offense. He rushed for 70 yards on 20 carries and was the only North Texas player to catch a pass, hauling in three for 10 yards.

Jason Attaway started and completed 1 of 3 for 1 yard before giving way to Richard Bridges. Bridges completed 2 of 13 for 9 yards. He was also intercepted twice.

It was the first shutout for the Tigers since Nov. 8, 1997 when they held Alabama scoreless in Tuscaloosa.